GROWING evidence that climate change is having a devastating impact on some of Scotland's iconic species and habitats is supported by a major new report, according to a nature conservation charity.

RSPB Scotland is calling for a redoubling of efforts to tackle the problem which it says is threatening the country's unique natural heritage.

Birds such as kittiwakes, dotterels and snow buntings are among the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the charity, as are Scotland's rare machair grassland habitats.

The call comes on the day the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) formally publishes its latest update on the scale of the threat globally.

RSPB Scotland said coastal habitats and wildlife are already suffering from the rising sea levels, extreme weather and warming oceans highlighted in the report.

It argues governments must take urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and halt the damage caused to wildlife and ecosystems.

From its own research, the charity believes that climate change is behind a steep decline in the number of kittiwakes breeding in Scotland.

Seabird counts on some RSPB sites around Orkney point to an 87 per cent reduction in the number of kittiwakes since 2000.

Research suggests that warmer sea temperatures are affecting the abundance and quality of their main source of food, sand eels, raising fears the species could become extinct in some areas unless urgent action is taken.

Climate change is also said to be having an impact further inland on species such as the dotterel, a bird that breeds only on the highest mountain tops of Scotland.

Almost two-thirds of the UK population are found in the Cairngorms but recent figures show the total number of breeding males fell from 630 in 1999 to 423 in 2011, according to the charity.

It is feared that changes in temperature could force the birds further uphill, shrinking their habitats and leaving them with less food to eat. Conservationists have similar fears for the snow bunting, a songbird which depends directly on snow as a habitat and could experience a reduction in its range in Scotland.

The IPCC report singles out Scotland's machair grasslands as one of the habitats most at risk from climate change, RSPB Scotland said.

The machair, which supports species such as the corn crake, ringed plover and great yellow bumblebee, is unique to the British Isles and 70 per cent is found in western Scotland, but many parts are suffering from erosion and could be further damaged by rising sea levels and flooding, it is claimed.

Jim Densham, senior climate policy officer at RSPB Scotland, said: "The IPCC report powerfully backs up what we know about the changes that are already affecting Scotland's natural heritage.

"Some of our most special wildlife and habitats are suffering now from the impacts of a changing climate. The report is a wake-up call for all governments, including our own, to redouble efforts to halt climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of our economy and society.

"The report also highlights that we must take decisive action to adapt to a changing climate. Our wildlife needs our help if it is to adapt and survive the changes - changes which we have caused. This will need everyone - from government to each citizen - to take the threat seriously and to act."